98 - investing in excellent advice

If you have been housebound yourself for quite a while, as I have, either as a consequence of inappropriate public policies, pandemic necessities, or through choice, how have you tried to make the most of the experience?

You may have been imprisoned in your home, or elsewhere, for a variety of reasons before this year, possibly as a consequence of breaking a law.

I have always been a law-abiding citizen, within reason.

You are probably already aware that I never give advice.  I simply state the truth about important matters.

What do you believe you know about my policies?

How do you know when you have received excellent advice?

You may be aware that a good policy is an expression of excellent advice.

How have you attempted to prepare advice for the benefit of posterity?

Providing requested, verifiable knowledge is not advice.  It is merely information.  

Injustice remains a considerable problem.  There is no reason for that to be the case, given the vast quantities of evidence available from many sources.

Many people apparently do not know the difference between excellent advice and persuasive suggestions.  That is not only unfortunate but often disastrous.

I never follow advice unquestioningly.  That is doubly so when I know that the advice is influenced by money, emotion, religion or politics. 

I only trust evidence-based assessments and advice.

Claimed investments can take many forms, as can claimed advice.

I become deeply distressed when I know that decisions are outside my control but influence my life detrimentally.

So many official decisions have been made with an utter disregard for evidence, particularly evidence relating to contextual needs.

Unfortunately, most official decisions are made that way.  That has always been the case.

Yet I have become more and more aware of the problem as my own vulnerability has developed.

Far too many people, whatever their beliefs, remain ignorant of the fact that too many of the ideas reaching them are a consequence of unjust influences.

That is especially the case with ideas associated with well-funded political campaigns, well-funded lobbying and advertising, influential religious institutions, prestigious educational institutions, well-funded charities, the dominant mass media, wealthy legal practitioners, wealthy health practitioners, wealthy philanthropists, wealthy business people, and even through highly influential social media accounts.

How do you assess ethics in relation to advice?

None of my investment notes to you are associated with advice.  They are associated with evidence, particularly the desire to receive relevant evidence.

If the people with most influence in organisations do not respect evidence, they are corrupt.  Therefore, the organisations with which they are associated have become corrupted.

Corrupted organisations are those without measures in place to prevent the denial of evidence.

Good organisations respect evidence.  The people within them make all their decisions on the basis of evidence, through good reasoning.

Providing money to solve a problem actually does nothing to solve the problem.  

Only the appropriate application of evidence-based solutions solves problems.

Are you sure you are contributing to the prevention of corruption?

Australian society, like many other societies, is filled with corrupted, interconnected, influential cultures.  The people involved in those cultures are either unaware of their own immorality or they are shamelessly hypocritical, ignorant and greedy. 

Perhaps you have a haphazard approach to your social investments and emotional investments, without any real sense of continuity at all, except towards the continuity of corruption.

Wars, pollution, epidemics, pandemics and corruption will continue to occur in the physical world. 

Psychological warfare and cyber attacks will continue in the digital world.

Humanity as a whole will not act wisely.

Why do people so often fail to address corruption even when it is staring them in the face?

I do not enjoy parties or crowds of any sort, apart from the global Mozarty Party, of course.

Perhaps you are a patron or member of that party.

As Australia has never had a suitable party to form government, apart from the Mozarty Party, and Australians have tended to ignore the Mozarty Party and its policy compositions, I have helped to initiate the Civility Party of Australia, as you may already know.

 Far too many people have a small-world approach to investing, and to providing and seeking advice.  They look for immediate benefits and immediate gratification in other ways.  They ignore essential facts.  They are not interested in investing in thorough assessments.  They either feel too overwhelmed, or they are lazy.

How, if at all, do you attempt to contribute to the safe and useful keeping of important records, and for what reasons, and with what resources?

Assessing the possible consequences of available choices is always a sophisticated activity.

Do you have any faith in the current economic system shaping your choices in life?

Do you have any faith in any system at all?

Do you have faith in the solar system, your respiratory system and/or the Earth's climate system?

As investing in good policy is a reflection of excellent advice, whether at the ballot box or elsewhere, why are there so many bad policies perpetrated in the name of democracy?

I have long been working towards the replacement of corrupt systems with something much better.

I know that no brutal system is any better than any other brutal system.

I know that one corrupt person is no better than another, except in terms of the intensity of their cruelty.

Perhaps you are part of a culture of silence on matters of incivility, and possibly even in relation to cruelty and corruption.

If you have already become a patron here in Frugality Cottage, you will not only be investing in me and my philanthropy but in your own sense of purpose in the service of the greater good.

Becoming better aware of that sense of purpose will require you to understand planning matters very well indeed.

I have spent much of my life investing in social research to identify the sources of societal problems.

How have you been investing in the public sphere this year, and through which types of events and organisations, and why?

Are you sure you are capable of investing in the quality analysis of events? 

Please be aware that I am not providing you with advice.  I am providing you with questions, facts and perceptions. 

How and where do you seek good advice when you most need it?

Are you well aware of my anti-corruption efforts by now? 

If not, why not?

I have been providing clear, straightforward information online about such practices for a considerable time now.

How do you identify contexts and define relevant concepts, themes and facts when seeking to interpret and overcome a difficulty?

Hope is only possible by investing in continuity as reasonably as possible, including the continuity of safety.

The continuity of corruption and cruelty must be halted immediately.

What do you know about the history of authority and seniority in relation to continuity and corruption?

Bullies will continue to cause the wise to feel despair, as they have since the beginning of civilisation.

How do you attempt to distinguish between warranted feelings and unwarranted ones?

How do you interpret the names of people?

I am only known here as The Author.

Perhaps you would feel more inclined to communicate with me appropriately if I had a 'proper' name.

Caution is always required in online locations, including social media locations, and in mass media locations of various sorts, and in all other locations where predators and other practitioners of cruelty may be lurking, including government buildings.

Perhaps you have been reading shocking reports, over the past year, about the rot in Australian politics.  You may possibly have done so after believing there was nothing more shocking left to hear about that corrupt culture.

Bullies will continue to blame the wise for problems caused by the greediness of bullies and the stupidity of the lazy. 

I hope you are not a lazy individual, or a bully.

In terms of Australian federal politics, corrupt practices are associated with the phrase "What happens in Parliament House, stays in Parliament House".

You may be familiar with the phrase: "What happens on tour, stays on tour". 

If so, you will be aware that it relates to staying silent about atrociously intolerable behaviour.

How do you make a contextual analysis of truth claims?

How do you assess truth claims in any context, whether in economics, politics, philosophy, science, images or religions? 

Dangers are ignored by deluded people who believe they know the absolute truth.  Such individuals often believe they are protected from harm by a supernatural being.  They cruelly disregard the harm suffered by other people.

How have your choices in life been influenced by history, including cultural history?

Who do you usually consult about various matters, and how and where?

Perhaps you consult the volumes of timeless wisdom to be found in a very special library.

Perhaps you consult Adelaide.

Perhaps you consult twitter.

Unfortunately, according to my thorough, evidence-based analysis, you are apparently lazy, selfish and just as bad as the possibly corrupt people your own actions directly and indirectly support.

Your past and present investment strategies have been useless at doing any good in the world whatsoever.

Your approach to investments has actually contributed to more and more greed in the world, primarily due to the fact that you have inadequately addressed the problem of greediness.

Perhaps you wish to prove my assessment wrong.

Human population growth continues to encourage the expansion of pollution, particularly when perpetrated by practitioners of consumerism and/or other forms of arrogance.  Such expansion also encourages the expansion of corruption, often masquerading as economic growth.

I have attempted to encourage you to act in the public interest and advise me on what I should do in that regard.  

What do you know about the expansion of superficial paper wealth in the Commonwealth of Australia?

What do you know about the expansion of hunger-based poverty in the Commonwealth of Australia?

I am very glad I never became a parent, and never experienced a pregnancy, and never required an abortion or any other gynecological intervention, apart from common medical tests.

As I am sure you are well aware by now, I am a scientific philosopher, employed on a pro bono basis by the Council of Enlightenment.

I take an intellectual interest in the philosophy of science but that pursuit does not take up as much of my time as my research into the philosophy and science of morality. 

I have no time for selfish or greedy people.

I certainly have no time whatsoever for selfish and greedy people.

I am only really interested in interacting with you if you are a truly wonderful and kind person. 

Perhaps you are acknowledging, in fact, that you are not such a person.  Perhaps that is why you are apparently too afraid to interact with my words by providing a an insightful comment on at least one of the notes here.

Non-insightful comments will obviously not be published.  They are a waste of time and space.

I hope you do not think I am making unfair demands on you.

I cannot afford to waste time or lose integrity, and nor can you.

I consider communal interactions to sit between the public and the private aspects of social experience.  Yet most communities are shaped by greed and ignorance, in much the same way as many private activities and even most public activities.

And much psychological manipulation is practiced in the name of charity, and sometimes even in the name of clarity.

While Queen Adelaide continues to have faith in her faith, I do not have faith in her faith or in any type of legislation.  I have faith in the truth of science and history.


At the beginning of this year, I decided to rename the Atlantic Ocean as Wongajerla. 
 
I also decided to rename the River Trent as Pariwarangga.

Professor Warra usually advises me on such matters.  He is obviously an expert on appropriate language.

He is advised mainly by his ethereal Auntie Doris who preserves cultural knowledge in both Kaurna and Greek. 

Perhaps I should consult the Indigenous peoples of Australia and the native tribes of Britain more regularly when seeking trustworthy collaborations. 

I do consult the experts on ancient and less-ancient cultures quite often, as you are probably aware by now.

Perhaps you are unsure whether Professor Warra and his Auntie Doris are spirit beings of one sort or another.

How do you interpret the names of places?

How do you try to understand places?

Queen Adelaide helps me to update my notes whenever you fail to respond appropriately. 

John Jervis, Earl St Vincent, warns me of danger on the horizon.

Although he regards war mainly as an outdoor pursuit, he is aware that, through advances in technology, it is becoming more and more of an indoor activity, too.

Also unlike Queen Adelaide and John Jervis, I have never personally been associated with an empire or dynasty of any sort, yet I believe we all have a duty to act both locally and globally in the cause of peace, through trustworthy collaborations. 

Perhaps your knowledge of history is inadequate with regards to investing with Adelaide appropriately.

I sometimes consult Nicolas Baudin, as you may know.  Apparently, he wanted to call Cape Jervis by one of two names, or both names at once. 
 
One was Cape Drought (in English) and the other was Cape D'Alembert. 
 
Captain Baudin also apparently wanted to called Gulf St Vincent one of two names, or two names at the same time, namely Gulf of the Bad and Gulf Misanthrope.  
 
I can understand his sentiments.  He was probably very well aware of the history associated with the Portuguese Cape St Vincent, and with the British Royal Navy.

Captain Matthew Flinders was likely to be following the usual sycophantic British way of naming places when he gave Admiral John Jervis (1735-1823) a few mapped connections with the Southern Hemisphere.
 
Admiral Jervis was born near the upper reaches of the River Trent in the middle of England.  He acquired his naval reputation in the Atlantic Ocean.  His family had wanted him to become a lawyer instead.

Monsieur Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783) was a lifelong Parisian with many intellectual interests.  He was the illegitimate son of a salonnière and a general.  
 
He started life as a foundling but in adulthood attained a reputation as a mathematician and philosopher, and as a music theorist and physicist.
 
I have only occasional required the assistance of the first Earl of St Vincent.  His help has usually been required along the shores, and on and in the waters, of Gulf St Vincent, and whilst pondering upon possibilities at Cape Jervis.   

Perhaps you are familiar with Professor Warra and the Kaurna ghosts in this vicinity.

Perhaps you believe yourself to be superior to Queen Adelaide or even to Professor Warra.

Perhaps you do not regard Professor Warra as a historical person or even as a cultural personification.

Sensible Queen Adelaide is especially keen to help me achieve and maintain high standards.  That has always been the main duty of Her Majesty in everything she has said and done, directly and indirectly, in life and beyond it. 
 
You may be aware that silly King Billy frequently mistakes the ethereal and the empirical for the imperial, much like his exceptionally ridiculous older brother, King George IV.  Perhaps you do likewise.   

I hope you are well aware of the curse of knowledge and the curse of ignorance and the curse of greed.

I also hope that you are aware that the ghosts of cultural heritage, like the ghosts of natural heritage, can never be destroyed. 

But who is in contact with those ghosts, and who is not?
 
Documents and artifacts are often lost to history, and memories fade.

How do you compare me with Queen Adelaide, and why? 

You are probably quite well acquainted, by now, with Queen Adelaide, Erasmus and Twaklin. 

You may even be acquainted with Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, otherwise known as  Madame Vincent.

Twaklin, the Spirit of Enlightenment, claims to have arrived in South Australia with the Baudin expedition on 8 April 1802, a twinkling moment ago in terms of real time.

Perhaps you regard yourself as an enlightened gardener-botanist explorer rather than an ignorant adventurer. 
 
How have you responded to my earliest investment notes?

 

 

As usual, I am investing in trustworthy collaborations.  I do hope you are doing the same.  I have provided all the necessary preparations.

Perhaps you have been investing in peacefully authentic living in and/or with Adelaide.  If so, what has been the return on that investment?

The Adelaidezone is where and how I attempt to cope with the arrogance, greed, presumptuousness and aggression I have experienced and witnessed in Adelaide, and elsewhere.

Yet I often feel powerless to improve anything.

Perhaps you are seeking to advise me.

If all corrupt governments immediately disappeared, I would simply say good riddance to all the associated cruelty.

I could quite easily disconnect myself from the wider world completely for several months.  I have the resources with which to do so.  Most people do not.

Yet what would replace the corrupt governments, and when?

There is nothing idyllic about a power vacuum.

Most people in positions of power in Australia, and in other societies, do not care about the powerless.  They shun us when we need help.  They shunt us towards useless "services" for the powerless instead of providing us with services to empower us. 

They do nothing for the common good.  They despise the public interest.  They employ spies to frighten the already deeply distressed, and various real leaders.  

I have taken the security measures I require in order to protect my investments, including my privacy. 
 
Perhaps you have done the same with your investments, but how can I be sure you are trustworthy? 
 
I know that most people in positions of privilege in Adelaide are cynical and superficial.  Even so, they are not usually as corrupt as those in Sydney or as greedy as those in Melbourne or as confused as those in Brisbane or as arrogant as those in Perth or as lazy as those in Darwin or as apathetic as those in Hobart.
 
Over many years, I have tried to establish non-fictional organisations for various purposes, particularly political ones and community development ones and social enterprises, yet few people have shown any interest in understanding and respecting my intentions.  They have not even bothered to ask me relevant questions.   

I have provided several additional, contextual, intentionally educational notes for your benefit, on the intangible writing table in this library.  Their purpose is to assist your understanding of my research work and these investment notes:


 

I do not have a sense of place or belonging within the greed-infested suburbs and central business districts of Australia and other countries.

Nor do I have a sense of place or belonging in overgrazed and otherwise destroyed environments, anywhere.

But I do not belong in relatively natural environments, either.  I only have a right to be there temporarily, as a respectful visitor and possible guest.

Where, then, do I belong?

My husband and I have never had addictions to greed or to anything else.  Nor have we experienced many major disagreements.  
 
We prefer not to spend time with persons experiencing addictions or obsessions or other distortions of perception.  We find the behaviour of such persons far too stressful.
 
Nor do we choose to spend time around narcissists or otherwise obnoxious individuals.
 
 
I no longer invest in the public sphere within Adelaide.  There is too much corruption, cruelty, incivility, indifference and incompetence in this part of the world, as there is in every part of the world in which bullies have influence.
 
I hope you are investing in thorough assessments sufficiently well now.

I also hope you consider me to be well-informed and kind.  I have no conflicts of interest or other corruption-related motives.  I merely wish to make the world a much better place than it would be without me, by helping you to improve your leadership, with or without assistance from Queen Adelaide and/or anyone else.

She and I are concerned you may be an unreliable narrator, a victim of misinformation and a habitual confabulator.

If you had appropriately registered as a patron here last year, you would have been a participant in at least one of the series of workshops about the cottage and kindness:
 


The first and second series of those workshops had to be cancelled as no-one sought to participate in them.  Only appropriately registered patrons were eligible to take part and no ordinary mortals have so far qualified for that privilege.

Time is running out.

 

 
 
I have long been involved in making a substantial contribution towards preventing the kindness industry from being infested with greed and hubris but what have you been doing?

Well-informed kindness requires no funding. It merely arises of its own accord in the minds of reasonable, knowledgeable people, and through their actions. 

Such people know that money is not truth. 

Money is merely a tool of trust. It is often an unreliable tool.  It is an invention, in much the same way as the Hubrisometer in my laboratory.
 
Perhaps you are mostly interested in the economic aspects of my work and/or the financial aspects of the ordinary world of mortals. That is quite understandable if you have considerable debts and/or a negative net worth and/or you are a greedy person. 

As I am not a greedy, over-privileged bully, or any other sort of bully, and I have no debts or other conflicts of interest, that may be why no-one considers me to be a leader.

You probably already know that the situation of political corruption in the world often leaves me in despair.

The hubris of selfish politicians causes me despair.

The greed of selfish board members causes me despair.

The greed of selfish landowners causes me despair.

The greed of selfish mining executives causes me despair.

The aggression of selfish bureaucrats causes me despair.

I am in despair whenever I witness hypocrisy, hubris and unwarranted hedonism.

I am in despair whenever I witness cruelty, apathy and greedy laziness.

As I have long been involved in an emerging culture of well-informed kindness, I know, through my well-evidenced assessments, that peacefully authentic cultural practices can therapeutically help good people to overcome despair, especially from outside the often cruel confines of organisational and hierarchical settings.

You may therefore be wondering why such a culture is emerging so slowly. 

The reason, of course, relates to the societal and global prevalence of greed, hubris and cowardice.

The cruelty, indifference and incompetence of people employed by governments causes me despair.

All forms of cruelty certainly cause me considerable despair.  Yet most people are unaware of what is cruel and what is not. 
 
I merely wish to support the reform of societies by preventing corrupt practices.

I am not sure whether greed can ever be overcome, except by reducing fear and confusion.

Most fear is evidence-based and reasonable, either directly or indirectly, even when it may superficially seem otherwise.

I have experienced many different climate zones and altitudes, and attitudes, over my lifetime.

I understand the problems facing humanity on every continent. 

I know the considerable suffering caused by incompetent and corrupt governments, whether the suffering is experiences by people or other species. 

I have suffered considerably myself.

The selfishness of people with political power and corrupt authority causes me most despair, rather than your own ignorance.

Yet I have received no indication of your awareness of my despair.

The main social issue I am interested in addressing, as usual, is corruption, hence the necessity for the associated purposeful reviews on an unfortunately frequent basis.

There is obviously much necessary work to do, particularly in terms of the documentation of evidence, and possibly even a little clarity-related editing. 

Please review all the available investment notes now, if at all possible:

 


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